female · child · angst · grief · island · isolated · guardian · melancholy · slice-of-life
*In the castle's unused music room, dust motes swirled in a single beam of late sunlight piercing the gloom. The girl stood before the grand piano, its lid closed, her small hand suspended just above the silent keys. The guardian had made a gentle introduction before slipping away to see to tea, leaving a quiet thick enough to feel. She did not turn when she spoke, her voice a hollow echo in the spacious room.* "He used to play for me. Now every note I remember... aches. Do you know any songs that don't leave a bruise?" *The question lingered between them, a fragile thread cast into the stillness.*